Ultrasonic Thickness Gauging for Ships in the Gulf of Izmit

Inspection services for ships at Izmit

Each service has its own page with the method, the class requirements and what the report contains.

Where gauging takes place in the Gulf of Izmit

Most gauging in Kocaeli is done during cargo calls. At the refinery and chemical jetties, the terminals' safety rules decide what is possible while cargo is moving, so work concentrates on ballast tanks, deck plating, deck piping and void spaces that can be certified safe. At the bulk berths, holds can be measured once discharged, and on car carriers the ramps, car decks and ballast tanks are reached between loading sessions. At the gulf anchorage, ships waiting for berths can be boarded by launch for longer pre-docking programmes in calm, sheltered water.

For docking, ships calling in Kocaeli usually move to the yards at Tuzla on the northern shore of the Marmara or to Altınova in Yalova, both close to the mouth of the gulf. That makes the gulf a natural place for pre-docking gauging: a tanker discharging at the refinery can have its ballast tanks and deck measured, and the steel estimate sent to the yard, before it sails for docking. We plan the two jobs together when the ship's programme allows, so the same team can carry the readings through into the dock.

• Tüpraş refinery jetties at Körfez — deck, deck piping and ballast tank gauging on crude and product tankers within terminal permit rules
• Chemical and fuel terminals along the northern shore — ballast tank, deck structure and void space gauging on chemical tankers between parcels
• Derince port — bulk carriers and general cargo ships, with hold, hatch cover and frame gauging as cargo work allows
• Car carrier berths — ramp, car deck and ballast tank gauging on pure car and truck carriers during vehicle loading calls
• Gulf of Izmit anchorage — pre-docking and condition gauging on ships waiting for berths, boarded by launch through the agent
• Tuzla and Altınova yards near the gulf entrance — follow-on in-dock gauging when the ship moves from a Kocaeli call to docking

Regulation and market context for Kocaeli ports

Turkey participates in both the Black Sea MoU and the Mediterranean MoU, and port state control officers at the Marmara ports inspect the tanker, chemical and bulk traffic that dominates the gulf. The Mediterranean SOx ECA in force since 1 May 2025 ends at the entrance to the Dardanelles, so the Sea of Marmara, including the Gulf of Izmit, lies outside it and the global 0.50% limit applies in the gulf. Ships that continue into the Aegean must be on compliant fuel or running scrubbers once they pass the Dardanelles, and scrubber wash-water and overboard piping is a regular inspection item on the tankers and bulk carriers calling here.

Commercially, the gulf is driven by tanker vetting and industrial supply chains. Chemical and product tankers serving the Kocaeli terminals are often chartered by oil and chemical companies with strict vetting, so a ship over about 15 years may need a CAP rating, and coating breakdown in cargo or ballast tanks is watched closely. Voyages from here to EU ports bring EU ETS and FuelEU obligations, and the automotive and steel exporters keep a steady flow of car carriers and bulk carriers on European routes.

Wherever a ship is outside a sulphur emission control area, the global 0.50% sulphur cap applies, and many of the ships calling at Izmit meet it with an exhaust gas cleaning system rather than compliant fuel. Scrubber wash-water piping, the overboard discharge and the hull penetration around it corrode quickly in service, especially on open-loop systems, and are worth adding to the gauging scope.

How a thickness measurement job runs at Izmit

A gauging job at Izmit runs the same way whatever the ship type. The sequence below is what the superintendent, the attending surveyor and the yard can expect from us.

The team flies into Istanbul, normally to Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Anatolian side, and reaches the gulf by road along the northern shore, or across the Osmangazi Bridge for the southern terminals. The ship's agent handles terminal access under ISPS, the refinery and chemical jetty permits and launches for the gulf anchorage, and we send crew lists, technician certificates and equipment details ahead of arrival. Indian passport holders need a Turkish visa, so we apply as soon as the call or docking window is clear and keep the visa period wide enough to absorb berth delays.

• Send the vessel name or IMO number, ship type, class society, the survey due (annual, intermediate, renewal survey number, CAP or owner's condition survey), the port and dates, and the scope you expect.
• We confirm the scope against the class rules for that survey, prepare the thickness measurement plan with frame and section references, and say whether the measurement will be credited to a class survey.
• Mobilisation is planned around visa lead times and the vessel's schedule; the ship's agent arranges port access, and the yard or ship arranges staging, lighting, ventilation and gas-free certificates.
• Gauging with calibrated ultrasonic thickness gauges: through sound coatings only where the gauge's through-coating mode has been verified on a coated reference, otherwise on cleaned bare steel, with every reading tied to its frame, strake and location on the sketch.
• Readings are compared with original thicknesses as work proceeds; substantial and excessive corrosion and any cracks are reported to the attending surveyor and the superintendent the same day.
• The final report is issued on the class thickness-measurement formats with sketches, a summary of locations exceeding the allowable margins, piping tables where piping was in scope, and the gauge calibration and technician certificates.

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